Bridges establishes working group to prepare discussion document

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, September 3rd, 2018 - 19 comments
Categories: national, same old national, Simon Bridges - Tags:

Simon Bridges in his usual Morning Report interview this morning said this:

We are starting our policy process proper today and this is the first one. We will do other areas as well about one every month or so. The process we are going to follow is listen then discussion documents next year then very clear policies into 2020.

Sounds exactly the sort of thing he has been criticising Labour for.

And he is proposing to take another roadshow.  I wonder if he is going to use limos this time?

Neale Jones sums it up best.

https://twitter.com/nealejones/status/1036337921832304640

19 comments on “Bridges establishes working group to prepare discussion document ”

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  1. Clive Macann 1
    3 September 2018 at 10:23 am

    Sorry, but all I can do is laugh at the hypocrisy.

  2. Jum 2
    3 September 2018 at 10:26 am

    I still can’t line up the complete media blackout on what Labour thought about nat policies or governance in last 9 years while Nats in government and Now, every day, the nat opposition is given air time, even more than Labour.

    Both points of view should of course be the norm, but only it seems, when nats are in opposition.

    Labour needs to find alternatives to relying on hoping mainstream NZers actually read blogs that give both points of view, because media, owned by private interests, or still run as a national business (RadioNZNational…) is certainly not objective in its reporting.

    • Gosman 2.1
      3 September 2018 at 10:47 am

      Where is your evidence that there was a complete blackout (as you describe it) on what Labour thought about nat policies or governance in last 9 years? I certainly heard or read numerous opinions from Opposition party leaders AND spokespeople.

  3. AsleepWhileWalking 3
    3 September 2018 at 10:27 am

    Well that’s not so good. Its Simon’s super waffle.

    Sounds almost as if he stepped in to help this family tho

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12118230

    National Party leader Simon Bridges told Newstalk ZB on Monday he was contacted by concerned New Zealanders last week who he knew “pretty well” who didn’t want anything out of it aside from helping the Hamilton family.

    “They could see the money was the issue.

    “They have underwritten what has happened and paid for the medevac.”

  4. Gosman 4
    3 September 2018 at 10:46 am

    Yes this is what an Opposition should do. What an Opposition should try and avoid is spending 9 years doing next to know policy development and when getting power create a whole raft of working groups to develop them on the fly.

    • arkie 4.1
      3 September 2018 at 11:03 am

      To paraphrase:

      “Don’t look at us! Look at those other folks. They are so much worse than us!”

      • Gosman 4.1.1
        3 September 2018 at 11:10 am

        No. I think you should look at what the Opposition is doing and go “They are actually trying to identify what the general population want while not in a position of power to make a difference.”

        • dukeofurl 4.1.1.1
          3 September 2018 at 11:31 am

          Ok . So Simon is going to travel by Intercity bus to identify what the ‘general public want ‘?

          I dont think so.

          Its just another fund raising round, where local party cabinet clubs are expected to pony u[p some attendance fees to ‘have Simon listen’

          The reason for the fund raising ? To pay for focus groups and polling where they sort out their messaging and as a plus give Simon some ‘lines to peddle’ each Tues on his media rounds that they have tested to connect with swing voters. probably labours working groups has sounded good in focus groups so Simon has swung in his ‘counter programming’ like a TV scheduler.

          Most of the caucus would be barely consulted when they were in government and now in opposition they have nothing to say.
          Reminds me of the phrase about the wider Romanoff family- ‘Could speak 5 languages but had nothing to say’ – Not that the Havoverians-Windsors were any different but usually only spoke English and a bit of French

        • Tricledrown 4.1.1.2
          3 September 2018 at 11:36 am

          What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
          72 working groups in John Keys first year costing $58 million must have meant National were flailing.
          As opposed to Labour’s $32million mean Labour is more competent especially as Simon is doing one to Ironically giving credence to working enquiries must have been a taxpayers union idea!
          National are perpetuating a lie to make it look like the truth.
          Trumpish but now Trumps lies are coming back to bite his popularity continues to drift South as his treasonous poison is exposed.
          National crying Wolf to much will backfire.

          • The Fairy Godmother 4.1.1.2.1
            3 September 2018 at 12:45 pm

            Have you got any links to that. I know there are some but can’t find them. It’s just I’m having an argument with someone who listens too much to talk back.

    • Carolyn_Nth 4.2
      3 September 2018 at 12:14 pm

      Except, Labour did spend the 9 years in opposition working on policies, as did the greens and NZ first.

      Labour had detailed policies going into every election since 2008.

      Kiwi build, and numerous other policies were announced while in opposition.

      Labour had all these policies going into the 2017 election:

      There was this in 2013

      I recall under Cunliffe’s leadership, Labour announced a package for families called best Start, designed largely by Ardern.

      Remember how Key attacked Labour to “show me the money” on a policy that included a lot of details.

      Meanwhile, when the Nats Got into power in 2008, they had few detailed policies.

      They’d put all their efforts into propaganda to get elected.

      • Kevin 4.2.1
        3 September 2018 at 12:19 pm

        Yep, tax cuts and cheese dominated the media back then and little else.

      • Descendant Of Sssmith 4.2.2
        3 September 2018 at 6:00 pm

        Well I remember when Labour had the year of consultation supposed to be followed by the year of the manifesto and the shambles that was.

        Miss people like Xtasy pointing out how little it did for the ordinary poor and beneficiaries.

    • Muttonbird 4.3
      3 September 2018 at 12:56 pm

      Some great gymnastics there.

  5. fustercluck 5
    3 September 2018 at 12:18 pm

    I really do not like Jacinda. Her government is a bit of shambles. But Bridges is attempting to exceed her capacity for uselessness. He will never win an election.

  6. Ad 6
    3 September 2018 at 12:53 pm

    Nice work Neale Jones.

  7. dukeofurl 7
    3 September 2018 at 2:26 pm

    You can see how much national are ‘interested in what the public think’ from their list of written questions
    https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/order-paper-questions/written-questions/

    Brownlee wants to know the timing of the PM knowing about the staff issues with Meka Whaitiri
    While Tim Vandemolen wants to know in 40 questions what was in The Minister of Racings diary- clearly trawling to see if anything has been missed.

    They must have a question generator app in MPs office where it just creates questions automatically just by putting in a Ministers name.

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